Jane Eyre (Signet Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Charlotte Brontė (Author), Erica Jong (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: July 1, 1997

Featuring a new introduction written by Erica Jong, the classic 1847 novel traces the doomed love affair between an orphaned, independent-minded governess and her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester. Reprint."

Editorial Reviews

Review

''At the end we are steeped through and through with the genius, the vehemence, the indignation of Charlotte Bronte.'' --Virginia Woolf --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Book Description

Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics; Revised & updated edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451526554
• ISBN-13: 978-0451526557
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,776 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) was from an English family that produced three novelists: herself, Emily, and Anne. Besides Jane Eyre, other best known works include Shirley and Villette.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#77 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#77 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

313 of 343 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Do not miss out on this book... February 28, 2000

By Anne-Kari

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

You know all those 'classic' novels you read in high school? How many of them do you actually remember? Well, if Jane Eyre was one of those long-forgotten books, pick up a copy. To read it as an adult is a joy: it's a sweeping, disturbing, intense, thrilling, very romantic gothic love story, written in the voice of a very intense, almost claustrophobically self-aware young heroine. Jane is no Ophelia - she's a complicated, remarkable character, and a very strong female character in a genre that usually draws women as beautiful victims at best.

There's something for everyone in this book: Windswept castles, difficult and neurotic family members, dark secrets about tragic former lovers, good triumphing over evil, all that good juicy stuff that makes a great romantic story. What elevates Jane Eyre is Bronte's remarkable style & skill and her sharp and complex characterizations.

Trust me on this: If you don't remember it from your teens, you should give it a try now. Here is one novel that more than lives up to it's 'classic' status.

220 of 246 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece For The Ages - Superb!! January 6, 2005

By Jana L. Perskie HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I first read "Jane Eyre" in eighth grade and have read it every few years since. It is one of my favorite novels, and so much more than a gothic romance to me, although that's how I probably would have defined it at age 13. I have always been struck, haunted in a way, by the characters - Jane and Mr. Rochester. They take on new depth every time I meet them...and their's is a love story for the ages.

Charlotte Bronte's first published novel, and her most noted work, is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story. Jane is plain, poor, alone and unprotected, but due to her fierce independence and strong will she grows and is able to defy society's expectations of her. This is definitely feminist literature, published in 1847, way before the beginning of any feminist movement. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the novel has had such a wide following since it first came on the market. It is also one of the first gothic romances published and defines the genre.

Jane Eyre, who is our narrator, was born into a poor family. Her parents died when she was a small child and the little girl was sent to live with her Uncle and Aunt Reed at Gateshead. Jane's Uncle truly cared for her and showed his affection openly, but Mrs. Reed seemed to hate the orphan, and neglected her while she pampered and spoiled her own children. This unfair treatment emphasized Jane's status as an unwanted outsider. She was often punished harshly. On one occasion her nasty cousin Jack picked a fight with her. Jane tried to defend herself and was locked in the terrifying "Red Room" as a result. Jane's Uncle Reed had died in this room a little while before, and Mrs. Reed knew how frightened she was of the chamber.... Since Jane is the narrator, the reader is given a first-hand impression of the child's feelings, her heightened emotional state at being imprisoned. Indeed, she seems almost like an hysterical child, filled with terror and rage. She repeatedly calls her condition in life "unjust" and is filled with bitterness. Looking into the mirror Jane sees a distorted image of herself. She views her reflection and sees a "strange little figure," or "tiny phantom." Jane has not learned yet to subordinate her passions to her reason. Her passions still erupt unchecked. Her isolation in the Red Room is a presentiment of her later isolation from almost every society and community. This powerful, beautifully written scene never fails to move me.

Mrs. Reed decided to send Jane away to the Lowood School, a poor institution run by Mr. Brocklehurst, who believed that suffering made grand people. All the children there were neglected, except to receive harsh punishment when any mistake was made. At Lowood, Jane met Helen Burns, a young woman a little older than Jane, who guided her with vision, light and love for the rest of her life. Jane's need for love was so great. It really becomes obvious in this first friendship. Helen later died from fever, in Jane's arms. Her illness and death could have been avoided if more attention had been paid to the youths. Jane stayed at Lowood for ten years, eight as a student and two as a teacher. Tired and depressed by her surroundings, Jane applied for the position of governess and found employment at Thornfield. The mansion is owned by a gentleman named Edward Fairfax Rochester. Her job there was to teach his ward, an adorable little French girl, Adele. Over a long period the moody, inscrutable Rochester confides in Jane and she in him. The two form an unlikely friendship and eventually fall in love. Again, Jane's need for love comes to the fore, as does her passionate nature. She blooms. A dark, gothic figure, Rochester also has a heart filled with the hope of true love and future happiness with Jane. Ironically, he has brought all his misery, past and future, on himself.

All is not as it seems at Thornfield. There is a strange, ominous woman servant, Grace Poole, who lives and works in an attic room. She keeps to herself and is rarely seen. From the first, however, Jane has sensed bizarre happenings at night, when everyone is asleep .There are wild cries along with violent attempts on Rochester's life by a seemingly unknown person. Jane wonders why no one investigates Mrs. Poole. Then a strange man visits Thornfield and mysteriously disappears with Mr. Rochester. Late that night Jane is asked to sit with the man while the lord of the house seeks a doctor's help. The man has been seriously wounded and is weak from loss of blood. He leaves by coach, in a sorry state, first thing in the morning. Jane's questions are not answered directly. This visit will have dire consequences on all involved. An explosive secret revealed will destroy all the joyful plans that Jane and Rochester have made. Jane, once more will face poverty and isolation.

Charlotte Bronte's heroine Jane Eyre, may not have been graced with beauty or money, but she had a spirit of fire and was filled with integrity and a sense of independence - character traits that never waned in spite of all the oppression she encountered in life. Ms. Bronte brings to the fore in "Jane Eyre" such issues as: the relations between men and women in the mid-19 century, women's equality, the treatment of children and of women, religious faith and hypocrisy (and the difference between the two), the realization of selfhood, and the nature of love and passion. This is a powerhouse of a novel filled with romance, mystery and passions. It is at once startlingly fresh and a portrait of the times. Ms. Bronte will make your heart beat faster, your pulse race and your eyes fill with tears. The Best!!
JANA Read more ›

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great Romances January 21, 2011

By Shelby Miller

Format:Kindle Edition

Jane Eyre is about as unprepossessing a heroine as one could hope to find. Not only is she an orphan, she's extremely plain, her manners are stilted, and her relatives hate and bully her. Jane's one chance at freedom is the charity school her aunt sends her to. After buckling down, she finally manages to scrape up enough accomplishments to take on a position as a governess. What she finds as governess, though, is a mysterious manor and its even more mysterious owner, Mr. Rochester, who takes a strange fancy to her. Will Jane find love at last? Or will the secrets she reveals destroy all hope of happiness?

"Jane Eyre" is one of the most well known gothic romance classics, and for good reason. This book enchanted me as a teenager and introduced me to the genre as a whole. A must-read for anyone who likes romance or mysteries. Bella and Edward are pale shadows of Jane and Mr. Rochester.

80 of 88 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I love Jane Eyre but the Footnotes Ruined It August 26, 2004

By Albert Einstein

Format:Paperback

Don't get me wrong, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books. However, this version of Jane Eyre has millions of footnotes so you are forced to constantly flip back and forth to see if the footnotes are saying anything useful.

When the character Adele is speaking paragraphs of French, they don't bother translating it for you but they will gleefully tell you what's going to happen one-hundred pages later in the book.

Reading this version of Jane Eyre is like watching a movie with an over-enthusiatic friend who keeps talking through the whole movie and telling you what's going to happen. If you're going to read Jane Eyre, I would reccomend different version

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Abridged :( March 22, 2007

By Sarra

Format:Audio CD

I will agree that this performance is given with sensitivity to the voice of Jane Eyre and of Charlotte Bronte, but alas it's an abridged version. The above listing does not give any indication of this, consequently I was very disappointed when it arrived. I personally have no use for abridged books. When I pick up a book (print or audio) I want to experience the entire book. Abridged books always leave me feeling cheated, wondering what did I miss?

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Story Sublime April 22, 2007

By Paul McGrath

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There is so much to be said for this novel that it's difficult to know where to begin. It is a superb evocation of a time and place; it is a complex, detailed character study; it has a believable and compelling plot; and, more than anything else, it is a magnificent love story.

Of course, love stories are the common denominator of human existence and have been the subject of literature since mankind first put charcoal to rock, so the fact that Jane Eyre is a love story is nothing terribly significant. No, what makes this novel so special is the thoughtfulness with which its narrator, Jane Eyre herself, documents her love affair. She is extremely intelligent, she carefully analyzes her feelings and actions, and she is scrupulously honest with both herself and her reader. This is what sets it apart: it is the depth of these thoughts and feelings that make the novel interesting. Beyond that, though, it is the character of Jane, slowly revealed, that makes the novel a delight.

The plot is Jane's story. Orphaned, she is sent to live with her cruel aunt and cousins. At the age of ten she is sent away for good to a charity school, at which she gets her education, but which is run in such a miserly fashion that many of the students there actually die of disease and starvation. Jane survives, and at the age of eighteen, is able to secure a position as a governess to a child in a great house of England: Thornfield Hall. It is owned by Edward Rochester, the man who will become the centerpiece of her life.

How the two begin to slowly realize their affection for one another, how they then cautiously begin to act on their feelings, and how they must then surmount the obstacles in their path--both societal and self-inflicted--are what make up the bulk of the novel.... There are at least a few surprises along the way. The strong-willed Jane's moral code requires that she respond to these difficulties in certain ways. It is to the novel's and the author's great credit that these decisions are never simply made; Jane agonizes over them in heart-wrenching fashion. As in life, the standards one chooses to live by can be difficult to maintain.

This defining tension is what drives the novel, but that it is delivered in such a skillful and assured way is what raises it to its lofty status. The dialogue, particularly, is fantastic. It is the stuff of an actor's dream: much of it can be interpreted in several different ways. Jane describes Rochester as being moody and tempestuous, and he often is, but at the same time--particularly after Jane agrees to marry him--he is hilariously wry and bemused. Jane comes across as being earnest and pleading, but she can be very playful and is often flirtatious. As mentioned above, these are deep, achingly human characters.

The setting is also very evocative. The English countryside, class system and moral understanding were obviously familiar to those who read the book in Ms. Bronte's day, and probably familiar to many of us in this day and age. Nevertheless, Ms. Bronte took the time to document these things carefully. The descriptions of Rochester's home, the lanes in front if it and its orchards and fields; the destitute and grimly cold school for girls; and the small country town where Jane makes the acquaintance of a small group of benefactors towards the end of the novel are all a testament to life as it existed at this distant time and age.

The novel is looked upon as a classic and should be. Ms. Bronte not only created a beautiful piece having to do with the nature of love--personal to her but universal in nature--but did so in such a spectacular way that she actually makes the reader feel this love, both for her creation, and for her. Read more ›